RBT released in Satkosia wildlife sanctuary

Bhubaneswar/Bantala: A two-year-old Royal Bengal tigress from Madhya Pradesh was released into wild in Satkosia Wildlife Sanctuary in Angul district, a top forest official said Saturday.

Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife) Sandeep Tripathy said the tigress was released Friday in the wildlife sanctuary. The tigress was brought to Satkosia from Bandhavgarh National Park in Madhya Pradesh June 28 and was kept under observation in a special enclosure at Satkosia Tiger Reserve.

A three-year-old Royal Bengal Tiger was relocated from Madhya Pradeshs Kanha National Park and released in the Satkosia Tiger Reserve July 7.

“An expert team of Wildlife Institute of India (WII) has been monitoring the movement of the big cats round-the-clock in the forest,” Tripathy said.

The two RBTs, one male and another female, were translocated as a part of an inter-state re-introduction of tigers, as per the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) guidelines.

The state government has planned to bring six tigers from Madhya Pradesh and release them into the Satakosia tiger reserve to increase the population of big cats.